The vast international community of Urban sketchers (USK) brings together passionate amateur or professional artists who come together to draw outdoors, in all countries of the world!
It’s an all-volunteer non-profit organization that started from an online forum on Flickr in 2004 and has grown fabulously!
This craze for in situ drawing, initiated by the founder of the movement Gabriel Campanario, reached a global scale in a few years !!!
Urban sketchers: a human adventure above all!
One could say that this is a real phenomenon of reconnection between human beings around the world!
The community brings together a large network of travelers from around the world but also local people who graphically describe their daily lives.
Art at everyone’s fingertips!
Through this universal language, many drawing artists give an insight into their life and environment through sketching. They then share their sketches via social networks.
People trace moments of their daily lives with a sketch, a drawing or a freehand painting done by observation.
Without distinction of age, nationality and personal or professional background, the members of the association meet to draw on location. They often capture their experiences in a sketchbook!
The act of drawing in situ allows to get connected and to experience the present moment linked to a place, in a very personal manner. The sketches draw their source from creativity and produce art that reflects a unique point of view and feeling!
It’s a great opportunity to draw with people and to share creativity, whether online, during workshops or at an annual symposium!
The Urban Sketchers motto: meet, draw and share.
The values of the Urban Sketchers community seem to sum up as follows (excerpt from the book ‘the world of urban sketching’ – 2022 edition)
- Draw in situ (indoor or outdoor) from direct observation
- Describe your environment, place of life or travel
- Draw a memory of a time and place
- Be faithful to the scenes drawn
- Use all kinds of media and promote an individual style
- Support each other
- Meet
- Share drawings online